Chapter 38: Chapter 37: Taking Kickbacks

The Royalist faction in Zhenla and the anti-Vietnamese landlord merchants finally raised 350,000 taels of silver, intending to purchase 6,000 rifles from Austria at a price of 300,000 taels.

Ambrosius and the two accompanying officers were extremely satisfied with the price of 180,000 taels, because in Austria, these flintlock rifles could only be liquidated for about 15 florins (approximately 10.5 taels) each.

Furthermore, most of the liquidated firearms would end up in the hands of Austria's enemies or rebel forces.

The diplomat Zachar had already drafted the contract, and Ambrosius pressed his seal onto it decisively.

However, upon seeing the contract, Guan Jinpan was struck with terror, for the document clearly stated that Zhenla would purchase 6,000 flintlock rifles from the Austrian military at a price of 30 taels per unit, totaling 180,000 taels.

Guan Jinpan had intended to simply tear up the contract in a moment, only to discover that it had been prepared in five identical copies.

Struck as if by lightning, Guan Jinpan immediately inquired whether the unit price and total amount on the contract could be modified.

Ambrosius did not react immediately, but the diplomat Zachar understood the crux of the matter, and thus spoke with righteous indignation.

"Our Austrian Empire has a very strict auditing system. This contract must be kept for review by the Emperor, the Ministry of Finance, and the Prime Minister's Office. If we write 300,000 taels on the contract, we must remit that exact amount; otherwise, it will be regarded as embezzlement."

"Law is nothing more than human sentiment; I ask for your indulgence," Guan Jinpan said with a smile. "I am willing to gift you 20,000 taels of silver. I have heard that your annual salaries are a mere few hundred taels; it is truly too much to ask of you."

Ambrosius and Zachar looked at each other, but both resolutely refused to accept, as the crime was simply too grave.

Guan Jinpan absolutely could not accept this outcome; if the matter were exposed, there would be no place left for him in Zhenla.

Yet, to abandon this deal would be to ruin the future of this country and his own family.

As Guan Jinpan hesitated, Father Pacini interrupted.

"Lord Guan Jinpan, if you can allow me to enter the palace to become the tutor to the princesses, I can consider helping you persuade them."

Unable to abandon the deal and unable to let himself be disgraced, Guan Jinpan had no choice but to agree to Pacini's request.

Father Pacini immediately pulled Ambrosius and Zachar aside to deliberate.

Father Pacini revealed his plan: to use this opportunity to have himself and Ambrosius become the private tutors to the princesses of Zhenla.

As the tutor to the princesses, Father Pacini would naturally follow the upper path of Catholic tradition, aiming to convert the King directly—there was no more direct way of proselytizing.

For Ambrosius, there was nothing easier to gain access to the princesses than by becoming their tutor.

As for the contract, he suggested they let the ministers in the Privy Council worry about it.

After all, Ferdinand I was not Francis II; he would not personally inquire into the details of such transactions, nor did Ferdinand I have the capacity to do so.

As for the 20,000 taels of silver, they should still be accepted, but it must be reported and applied for as startup funds for the supply point.

All three agreed with the plan, though they feared the "what if."

At that moment, Father Pacini stated that the Austrian Church was willing to bear all the risks.

The Austrian Church was extremely wealthy at this time, possessing not only donations from all social classes and private property but even the power to collect tithes from the faithful.

However, the Austrian Church was now under state control; these earnings had to be taxed to the state, and specific amounts had to be reported.

Once the group had made up their minds, they explained everything to Guan Jinpan.

Guan Jinpan was initially hesitant; after all, allowing two Westerners to become the princesses' tutors would be far too conspicuous.

But when he thought of how, if this matter were exposed, not only would the grand plan of national restoration be lost, but he would also be disgraced, he gritted his teeth and steeled his heart.

It was just a matter of placing two people by the princesses' side; he had ways to handle it.

Moreover, if this Austrian royal member became the princesses' tutor and entered the palace, wouldn't he essentially become a hostage in his own hands?

Indeed, once framed this way, everything could be resolved easily.

***

Vienna, Austria.

Count Thugut, the Minister of War, opened Ambrosius's report in his office and was instantly ecstatic upon reading it.

This order was simply too wonderful for the Austrian military.

The Austrian army could just collect these obsolete rifles and send them to Zhenla to make a massive profit.

As for whether it was 180,000 or 300,000 taels, Count Thugut did not care; he only hoped to dispose of these guns as quickly as possible so the returned funds could be used to update equipment.

To complete this transaction as quickly as possible and to support the pioneers of the Austrian Empire's first overseas supply point, Count Thugut decided to bypass the Cabinet and have the military handle the business directly.

This was because, at this time, the death of Francis II and the accession of Ferdinand I had plunged the entire country into chaos.

The conflict between Metternich and Count Kolowrat was intensifying, with bureaucrats from both factions attacking one another in a struggle for power.

The newly appointed Chief Royal Advisor, Karl von Sruut, relying on his status as Queen Anna's lover, attempted to act as Regent, only to be directly marginalized from the core of power by Count Kolowrat and Prince Metternich.

Neither side would yield on who should hold the future and power of the Austrian Empire.

Ultimately, Francis II's will had to be made public.

Francis II requested the formation of a Regency Council to replace the Privy Council.

The Regency Council consisted of four special commissioners: Count Kolowrat, Prince Metternich, Archduke Louis, and Archduke Franz Karl.

The intention of making the will public was to stabilize the court, yet it only incited greater resentment from Count Kolowrat toward Prince Metternich.

This was because Count Kolowrat had not been present when the will was drafted, whereas Metternich had been.

This led Count Kolowrat to suspect that Metternich had used a forged imperial decree.

In truth, this was the old Emperor's deliberate design; he did not want the two power players of Austria to be too close, and he added two members of the imperial family to the Regency Council as a double safeguard.

The primary purpose was balance—to prevent any single faction from growing too large and to ensure they could not threaten the imperial family.

Even if the two regents reached an agreement, two members of the imperial family could act as a check and balance.

Thus, the most bickering government in history was born.

This government could be described as utterly unproductive, for they spent every day in endless disputes.

No matter what opinion Prince Metternich proposed, Count Kolowrat would offer an objection.

And vice versa.

As for Archduke Louis, he understood nothing of state politics and only cared whether matters were beneficial to his family; naturally, he remained silent most of the time.

And Archduke Franz Karl, rather than politics, was more interested in wine.

Consequently, this Regency Council was a mere formality, and the country was unable to issue any government decrees.

As the nation stagnated, Madame Sophie keenly captured this point, attempting to control her husband to achieve her own political ambitions.

However, Franz Karl always remembered the advice his father had given him

"Do not take a stance. Do not speak. Do not approve, and do not oppose."

(End of Chapter)